Chapter 88: Outer-Session Event

"YAAWWWWWNNNN..."

A loud yawn escaped from the bedroom as Arlo rose from his bed, his hands covering the sides of his face while sunlight furiously poured through the window.

"What a bad dream..." Arlo muttered under his breath before disappearing into the bathroom and quickly making his way toward class.

___________________

"I’ve got great news for all of you today. News from the management itself."

The voice of the teacher, none other than Mr. Ian, rang out as the entire class, which had been waiting for their usual Mana class, immediately perked up at the announcement.

"According to the school management’s orders, your session for an outside-school outing has been prepared for three weeks from now..." Mr. Ian said.

"WHAT!?"

The entire group of students immediately screamed out in unison.

They all shot up from their seats, jumping and dancing around the classroom in excitement.

"Hmm," Arlo hummed as he watched the sudden liveliness of the class. He couldn’t help but turn toward Vael, who was also beaming wildly.

"But only a total of fifteen of you will be able to participate."

"Those selected won’t simply be the ones with the best combat abilities."

"You’ll need to demonstrate all-around ability, including adaptability, survivability, intelligent reasoning, and, of course, combat prowess," Mr. Ian explained.

The class gradually quieted down, everyone’s ears perking up as they listened carefully to his next words.

"The test will be fifty percent based on your school statistics, gathered from the various tests you’ll undergo starting today and continuing for the next two weeks."

"In the third week, you’ll be given a special test to select the fifteen students who will be allowed to participate out of the thirty-one of you."

His explanation caused several students to furrow their brows in thought, while others simply remained expressionless.

"Regardless of how things go, I’m pretty sure that if you work 101% harder over the next two weeks, both by improving your strength and performing well academically, you’ll be among THE ONES!"

"That said, let’s get to work..."

Soon, the bell rang, and this time, Vael successfully dragged Arlo to the cafeteria, preventing him from visiting the football field.

Though, truthfully, Arlo hadn’t been particularly interested in going there himself.

The sport had only caused him to attract unnecessary attention, and that was the last thing he wanted, as it could, in one way or another, impede his growth.

He was here to discreetly improve his strength, not draw everyone’s attention to himself.

"I was here yesterday but couldn’t find you anywhere. Where did you go? Did you get a crush on someone, hmm? Tell me her name..." Vael winked at him.

Arlo rolled his eyes.

"I wasn’t crushing on anyone."

’Well, except for the fact that I almost got crushed by twenty-one psychopathic Vorath.’

"I simply played around the school for an hour or so..." Arlo replied with a shrug.

He watched with interest as Vael’s expectant expression immediately fell into one of disappointment.

"Well, the joke’s on you, because I found the really, really, really true love of my life yesterday," Vael said, his eyes taking on a dreamy look.

Arlo counted on his fingers for a moment before replying.

"Let me guess. This is the third time you’ve found the so-called love of your life, isn’t it?"

Vael’s eyes widened in shock.

"What the? How did you know?"

Arlo rolled his eyes.

"You said ’really’ three times. Most likely, you’ve already been abandoned three times by your so-called love of your life."

"Tch, well, this one will be different. You’ll see. Hmph!" Vael barked back indignantly.

Arlo simply shrugged helplessly.

’Like I even care...’

"So, um, why were you all jumping around when you were given the news about the outside-school session happening in three weeks? Is it something worth celebrating?" Arlo asked, confused.

He hadn’t even had the slightest clue what those words meant, but judging from how excited everyone had become, perhaps it was something worth paying attention to.

"You bet it is. Don’t you know that once you enroll as a student at Cthulhu Academy, you’re automatically prevented from leaving the gates until the yearly session ends? And that takes an entire year."

"So for a whole year, I’ll be stuck looking at your ugly bear face..." Vael said with a snicker.

"You’re just jealous, horned cow..." Arlo replied.

Hot steam practically burst from Vael’s ears.

He had just been insulted over his natural appearance.

"Idiot! You’re only saying that because you’re jealous you don’t have horns. Hornless bear!" Vael yelled.

Arlo merely shrugged. Only a psycho would want two enormous bull horns sticking out of their head.

"So what happens during the outside-school session?" Arlo asked, returning to the topic.

Vael immediately looked pleased.

"The outside session gives us an opportunity to escape the fate of being stuck behind that enormous gate for an entire year."

"We get to go to the outside world for around a week, and during that time, it’s said that exciting things always happen..."

Vael’s eyes gleamed brightly.

"Exciting things like what?" Arlo asked curiously.

"Like kicking a human’s ass!"

Vael suddenly threw a punch toward Arlo’s face, but the pale vampire quickly ducked beneath it.

Vael clicked his tongue.

’Lucky bastard...’

"A cheap way to get back at me, don’t you think?" Arlo said, dipping his spoon into his mouth.

Vael snorted innocently.

"Just because you have a dirty mind doesn’t mean I do. I was only demonstrating."

"But seriously, there are many things that happen during the outside-school session. Sometimes, it takes place in the human sectors, and we even engage in a few battles with them so we can better learn how they fight."

"And who knows, you might even get yourself a human girlfriend if your face is pale enough. One whose blood you can completely suck dry on a nice, beautiful night..." Vael said with an evil grin.

Arlo’s heart chilled slightly.

’He couldn’t even imagine the horror that would descend upon a human woman who discovered that her boyfriend was a Vorath on their first night together. It would be nothing short of a full-blown horror film!’

"But there are always missions assigned during these outings. Missions with extremely tempting rewards, and they also determine your overall position at the end of the year’s session exam."

"I’ll just say, if you want a vacation away from this place and a way to gain rewards that might bolster your evolution and strength, then you should really work your ass off to seize one of those top spots..."

"Evolution?" Arlo asked, noting the peculiar word.

"Yes. If you participate in the missions, you might be rewarded with an evolution serum from the institute that will bolster your level, even allowing you to advance directly from the Noir Realm to the Agat Realm."

"You’ll gain an even higher form, one that will be ten times better than the one you currently have, with your strength increasing threefold!"

"Unfortunately, evolution serums are only accessible to people like Chris and Emrys."

"Only the large families can afford them. People like us can only cultivate our strength through the normal methods and hope that one eventually comes our way..." Vael lamented.

Arlo’s eyes flashed.

[So the Vorath can evolve too. How interesting.] The System said, echoing the exact thought that had crossed Arlo’s mind.

"I’ve heard that the most probable way to secure an evolution serum is through the outside-session missions. The best performers in the missions might be rewarded with one by the academy."

"So definitely get yourself into the top fifteen, but also aim to become the number one performing student in the mission..." Vael advised.

The two quickly returned to their meals, occasionally exchanging blows and insults as they quarreled until the bell rang, forcing them to hurry toward their next class.

_________________

"RIIIIIIIIIIIING!"

The sound of the bell echoed throughout the classroom once again, and immediately, everyone began packing their bags.

Arlo quickly headed toward Professor Igris’s lab, where plenty of work was already waiting for him.

After putting down his bag, he immediately got to work.

His main duties consisted of walking through the various floors to retrieve serum bottles Professor Igris needed for his experiments, as well as observing chemicals inside test tubes.

For the remaining nine hours, he would stay in the lab until Professor Igris gave him permission to leave.

Clearly exhausted from the day’s work, Arlo began creating a schedule for his nightly cultivation, deciding to cultivate once every two nights.

Once morning came, he returned to the academy and tried his best to grasp everything taught in class.

Whenever there was something he didn’t understand, Vael would teach him, although Arlo had to endure plenty of insults disguised as words of jealousy.

Yet, more than he expected, his skin grew considerably thicker than his resolve when it came to Vael’s comments, and before long, Arlo barely minded them anymore.

Every day, he became smarter, learned more new things, developed additional ways to manipulate his mana both within and outside his body, and even learned more about his Fallen Angel form and its implications.

Soon, time flew by, and two weeks passed almost instantly.

___________________

"Huuuu."

The sound of a long exhale echoed through the dimly lit room, where an eye-catching object could be seen.

A large, egg-like object made entirely of dark, congealed mana particles.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Suddenly, a loud boom erupted from the small egg, causing cracks to spread across its surface.

RIIIIIIIIIP!

The sound of flesh tearing through the dark, egg-shaped object rang out as a hand suddenly ripped through it.